God Sees
It takes practice to learn not to censor our prayers. But trying to keep secrets from God is like the three-year-old who covers her eyes and declares, “You can’t see me.” God sees into our hearts more clearly than we do.
Indeed, God is the one who prompts us to look at what we have swept under the rug of our repressions and rationalizations.
The Spirit awakens us to what lies hidden within—sometimes gently, sometimes with a jolt, but always so God can work with our conscious consent to free us for growth.
—Marjorie J. Thompson,
Soul Feast
What does prayer look like in moments of great difficulty? Consider Jesus’ prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. What can we learn? “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will’” (Matthew 26:39). We learn something of the heart’s attitude as we pray. Jesus fell with his face to the ground. What is our proper place, our proper posture before Almighty God? Many times in the Bible we’re taught, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). Please don’t miss the tenderness of Jesus addressing God as “My Father.” It’s as a son or daughter of God that we approach our Heavenly Father in prayer. We don’t have standing before monarchs or magistrates, powers or principalities, but the loving ear of our Father listens for our every word! “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:12). Consider also the persistence of Jesus’ prayer. In the garden of Gethsemane he repeated the same prayer three times. Remember that Jesus once shared a parable about a widow’s persistence to illustrate that God hears and answers persevering prayer (see Luke 18:1-8). The most revealing part of this prayer is found in its conclusion: “Not my will, but Thine!” Pray openly and honestly. Punctuate your prayers with surrender. Be content to leave your prayer in God’s hands—for he truly knows what is best, how to give, what to give and what to withhold. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics